(Point contact and grown junction transistors never became workhorses because they were swept away by alloy junction transistors,) A few workhorses in a collection are reminders of the “DC-3†transistors. They were produced by the thousands, sometimes sold through numerous companies as imports to the USA. As the DC-3 aircraft became the workhorse of the airline industry of the 50s, so too, certain junction transistors became the workhorses used in transistor radios. Workhorse (Highly used vintage transistors in radios). There are lots of Blue Ribbon vintage transistors from companies around the world. Some Blue Ribbon transistors helped to build the company brand. Some of the oddest, prettiest and sensational transistors are in this category. Blue Ribbon (Vintage transistors which distinguished themselves from other transistors): These are the vintage transistors which are well known for their shape, or color, or gold, or other trait.Any one of these in a collection would be awesome. These are the transistors of the first eight radios, the transistors which ignited a revolution which is still rocking this world. By the end of 1955, seven more radios had joined it. First 8 Radios (Transistors of the very first radios.) In October 1954, the Regency TR-1 became the world’s first portable transistor radio.Industry benchmarks in a collection display the developmental history of transistors. Many were not used in transistor radios but in other electronic devices. Industry Benchmark (The first of its kind in the advancement to the modern transistor): These are the early point contact, junction, drift, surface barrier, grown, RF, silicon and such transistors.A prototype transistor would be a treasure to any collection. Prototypes are very few in number and usually expensive. Prototype (Pioneer, experimental transistor which may or may not have become a commercial product): These are laboratory “test†transistors which a company may or may not have later refined into a commercial transistor.I have found that establishing categories helps me know what I want, know what I have and know why I got it. These are the seven categories I recommend (and use) for collecting vintage semiconductors. I have set some boundaries on my collecting (see the bottom of this post) which unquestionably bias my recommendations. SECOND, my recommendations favor transistors used in radios although one must also collect non-radio transistors for industry benchmarks, prototypes and other categories. I am only offering guidance for a collection. Also, please do not assume that a semiconductor not mentioned in my recommendations is not worth collecting. Please do not infer my recommendations as being necessary for a collection. Others may well offer very different suggestions. Others may have a different definition this is the one I use.įIRST, please know that these are just suggestions or ideas for a collection. By 1965 or so, the transistors used in radios had become, for all intent and purposes, fully developed and more or less uniform in shape and color (TO metal cans). What is a “vintage semiconductorâ€? I consider a vintage semiconductor to be a transistor produced between 1948 (soon after Bell Labs demonstrated the very first one in 1947) to about 1965. This sequence of postings is for anyone interested in collecting vintage semiconductors (transistors).
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